Drone shot by Jorma Kaukonen
There is never a good time for bad news but it comes unbidden whether we called for it or not. A couple of days ago a friend emailed us with the most unfortunate news that our dear friend, Woody Mann was nearing the end of his time with us. Woody and I had been friends for some time, but we just were not the kind to have that kind of life discussion. By the time I heard of his plight I was able to email him, but he could only respond with a smile.
You say goodbye to someone with the preconceived notion that you will meet again and continue the conversation where you left off. For me that’s an important state of mind. It keeps the weight of life from becoming unbearable. I took for granted that that we would probably see each other sometime later this year but it is obviously not to be.
Woody was an impeccably honest artist. He was utterly without pretense. He was also the most giving of souls when it came to his role as a teacher. No detail was too cumbersome for him to unpack. A mensch in all things, he was an elegant spirit. My heart goes out to Valerie, his fearless and loving wife.
Fair winds and following seas. I will miss you brother!
I never said thanks for this information, but it is much appreciated. Checked out Steve Mann, and he owns these tunes.@Jorma
I recently met Valerie Mann as we both were providing some music for a service in the church where Woody’s sister preaches. I played a bit of Mann’s Fate and asked her if she knew the tune, as I was supposing that it was written for her late husband. She was unaware of the tune and didn’t think it was written for Woody. The world has a ton people with the surname Mann, but I am hoping for some enlightenment if anyone can provide it.
First of all… I miss Woody as do we all who knew him. I wrote Mann’s Fate in late ’64 or early ’65 when I lived in San Jose while I was still at the University of Santa Clara. It was inspired by Steve Mann, an early and extremely inspired guitarist from LA. Check out Steve Mann, Live At The Ash Grove. The title was a dual play on words between Steve and André Malraux’s Man’s Fate.
Seems to me the issue is that Monsanto has patented their GMO seeds, and farmers can’t raise their own seed without violating patent law. Sounds mighty lot like a monopoly to me, but hell, looks like we playing with Monopoly money today, so what the hey. Farmers are always gonna wind up on Baltic, or in jail. Monsanto’s got a place on Boardwalk. The ‘Merican way, man.
@Tom NY
My buddy says your buddy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He says “Monsanto Years” lyrics make no mention of potential harmful effects of GM food, but do talk truth to power: farmers are being screwed by BigAg. My buddy is never wrong.
Feeling excited for some Hot fk’n Tuna magic the next few nights here in FL!
My wife Amy & I will be in Clearwater and Orlando.
Safe travels to all!
I’ll be the old dude with glasses and thinning hair. Oh wait… that may be be a little too generic. Just holler out, “Hey, Smoke, you here yet?” I’ll find you. (Don’t worry, I won’t be smellin’ like a nicotine butt.) Hope I get to buy you a beverage of choice, reminisce over times not had, but similar. It’s gonna be fun, brother. A little meet and greet will be a big dollop of lagniappe for a topper.I’m thinkin’ happy, happy, happy! Peace!
@carey georgas
Main Street Crossing
Ed, i think that there’s a certain continuity in a bill with Cannonball Adderley, Oscar Peterson, and Mahavishnu Orchestra that i don’t find in a bill with Crazy Horse and Yes. I’m not sure that MO would have been the same band without the jazz artists of the 40s, 50s, and 60s like the ones on that bill but i’m sure that Yes would have been the same band without Crazy Horse and vice versa.
@Greg Martelli
My vote for strangest grouping of acts would be 1972, Carnegie Hall, when Newport Jazz was in New York: the Cannonball Adderley Quintet opened, followed by Oscar Peterson solo, then…the Mahavishnu Orchestra. A lot of people left, the rest of us still can’t believe what we heard, half a century later. The acid wasn’t half-assed.
On a Much Brighter Note….
Saw you at Carnegie Hall in 1972. You were the 1st “rock” band to play the Hall. Jack C. reminded me of this many years later when I saw you both at Bely Up Tavern in Solana Beach.
It was a fantastic time. It was the first time I heard Sea Child. Wish I could me at your return in April. Thanks for the memory- feels like yesterday..What’s That Smell Like Fish….”
Regarding the 4 hr electric bronco.
The absolute strangest concert by pairing of acts ,was 71/72 at Shippensburg state PA.
Crazy horse with Nils Lofgren ( minus Shakey )& YES.
I was not a Yes fan , but couldn’t be more impressed with their technical skills (And outfits /costumes whatever you want to call them were bizarre , Like an Elizabethan fashion show ,
But Crazy horse -wow ,
A college gym on some half assed acid -the tornado of sound was almost indiscernible , where it was coming from ,everywhere .
Cushions on the aluminum bleachers or tapestry on walls might have helped .
It was like being in the audible vortex of a hurricane.
Born in Brooklyn
Grew up in Ct
Moved to Kantuck in 77( wow was that a culture shock).
I find the self righteousness and pedantry amazing ,and the pretext that I’m better informed ,or conversely not ascribing to the boorish NE norms ,wow .
In last of Mohicans,Kantuck? Daniel Day Lewis ( I’m paraphrasing ), go west and than turn south.
This is quite an active forum and consistently respectful ( mostly).
I’m not trying to flatter the host as he euphemistically pays his rent as do I , but he’s normally ( unless really offended ), let’s the dialogue take its path .
To distill this ,I don’t think of this site as an educational platform,so I prefer not to be lectured .
As a student of history ( by choice), I try to look to the past for reference .
As a SPECTATOR , to music , I let it flow .(Dave mason ).
My beautiful wife queried me last night ,What do you want to do between now and Dead.
My immediate response was argue less ,follow the truth .
There’s no equivocations that can “Interpet “, the truth , only actions .
I was reminded to keep my words and actions consistent .
Let’s go
The Cap often eulogies to keep a fair wind astern.
Sail on
@Tom
Which show, Tom?
Within two weeks the Hot Tuna will be in Texas. Taking my daughter and son-in law. It is going to be a great evening!
@carey georgas
Describing your point that Neil was putting his money where he is taking a stand I thought was lame…not you. I could have used other words.
Regarding the New York line, I could have said, “I’m from Texas”, and it would have meant the same… Texans, like Canadians, just may show New Yorkers just what it means to be an American…
I also believe, you don’t have to respect someone’s belief if you don’t agree with it. All ideas are not equally respectable, and I or you are under no obligation to respect an idea with which we disagree. The person is not the idea.
Let us get together, right down here. You well know there are some, conservatives that like fingerpicking too.
No worries. Maybe play a song with you one day.
No one wins, its a war of man. Neil Young
The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. King David
Burgers 50th Anniversary? This calls for some True Religion.
https://youtu.be/KWHjAyE3mqM
@carey georgas Full disclosure I am NYC born and bred, I live in Florida for the weather. I wouldn’t paint all New Yorkers with the same brush. I would hope to one day share a beer,or a show, maybe a class at FPR with you. Hope the family is doing well and the power grid holds
@Tom NY
Tom, I accept your outspokenness as a regional cultural characteristic associated with New Yorkers.
One can be outspoken in a civil discourse. When you start terming opinions you disagree with as “lame”and other pejorative adjectives, that is somewhat pretentious and not conducive to civil discourse. We desperately need civil discourse if we’re gonna pull out of this mess we’ve gotten ourselves into. You can respect someone’s belief without agreeing with it. My ideas aren’t lame just because you think they are, and if that’s how you roll, me and you won’t gee haw. So, any interaction we have needs to just stay to the music. I’m good with that if you are. Peace.
For the sake of jocularity, a funny Neil “war story” ca.1980. A buddy showed up day of, late one afternoon with tickets and fresh liquid, so off we went. We walked in thinking we were going to hear Sugar Mountain-Harvest-Cinnamon Girl Neil.
We walked out saucer eyed, ears ringing, minds chapped having spent 4 hours with Cortez the Killer on the bucking bronco Electric Crazy Horse.
Fahgetabout the merch tee shirt, I gained a hard earned, profound, new appreciation for Neil’s far reaching musical range that night.🤪
And today, “There but for the Grace of G_d…”
Be safe in the ongoing Jan. weather
@Dan Nigro
I didn’t start this, someone else did.
What you write is not really relevant. Spotify told Neil to stuff it. The truth is coming out…
Lots of Joe’s followers are into cage fighting, but that is changing.
A buddy wrote this – “Politically motivated disinformation campaigns by celebrities with large platforms are a real problem. Take, for instance, Neil Young’s 2015 album, “The Monsanto Years.” Despite near-universal condemnation by agronomists, geneticists, and public health experts, Young’s anti-GMO jeremiad broke the Billboard top 40, adding fuel to the moral panic surrounding genetically modified crops.
Someone with a long-form interview program and a wide audience ought to convene a panel of experts to debunk Neil Young’s harmful and unsubstantiated claims. Paging Joe Rogan.” Not to defend Rogan, but this is exposing the hypocrisy of Neil Young, a guy who put out widely anti-scientific, unsubstantiated claims, and was broadly repudiated for it by the scientific community at the time.
When someone posts support of what I think is the opposite of what should be happening, I will jump in. I’m from NY.
+++
Anybody have any suggestions for a good octave divider?
@carey georgas I think people miss the point that Spotify (a Swedish company) paid Joe Rogan $100M for exclusive rights to his “opinion” podcast for which they sell advertising. It is not news, it is unfact checked opinion. This is a for profit corporation & is subject to the consumer & a consumer boycott, the essence of people exercising their right of choice. This is not censorship, and I would note that those that cry censorship seem to have no issue with the banning of CRT teaching (or as most of us call it American history) The ownership of music is complex (as Jorma knows from all the JA lawsuits), the actual recorded performance is owned by the record company, not the artist (as I understand it) & Spotify pays the artists nano pennies per play. There is only one statistic needed for COVID and that is >90% of those hospitalized are unvaccinated and it can be spread by unvaccinated asymptomatic people (typhoid mary). CSNY are defending the helpless, the women and children left behind by those that choose to be unvaccinated. ‘Nuff said
It’s baffling why so many in this country don’t seem to understand that only censorship by the government is prohibited. Private parties (individuals, corporations, etc.) can censor all they want and often do–for better or worse.
@Tom NY
Lay with it, brother. You win. I got plenty walls right here. Don’t need you to bash my head against.
@carey georgas
That’s lame. Taking a stand for what, censorship? Taking a stand is defending the helpless…widows and orphans.
1/2 of revenue for his songs, no longer controlled by him. He sold. Plus he is on the wrong side.
Look at the Canadian leader saying, “small fringe minority of people on their way to Ottowa, or holding unacceptable views” Unacceptable views????!!!
Next you will be defending Susan Sarandon.
A beautiful video visit with Woody on PBS Behind the Guitar posted to YouTube on 1/25/16
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsGceVb2zYM
I hope Woody and the Reverend are back together in the union band…alleluia!
@Tom NY
When you’re putting your own money in play, it’s called “taking a stand”.
@Greg martelli
Very well written Greg. You may recall John Lennon, disagreeing with Young’s, “better to burn out than fade away” pitch… Lennon was right…Our host made a good decision in that department too.
You are very right about his sense of self importance… He is part of that Laurel Canyon crowd… He was buds with Charles Manson for a while….Bing that one… Quite a rabbit hole.
God bless Neil and his family…when the data comes out, many normies are going to be stunned… Also there are some that say. 3-6% will never be convinced no matter what they are shown.
Some of the comments on the web about Young and Mitchell have been hilarious. I love the one meme that has a picture of a latter day Joannie Mitchel that says —wait for it
When You Are So Woke You cancel yourself…
I never thought we would lose the “Tear down the wall……” mentality, just sayin!
Buffalo Springfield was the favorite band while they lasted.
There are a few incredible videos of Neil performing Mr.Soul and Cinnamon girl ( looks like 90’s), in front of prodigious Marshall stacks,tough to beat the Loner .
Neil was as dependable as “No Show Jones “, for years .
I was twice disappointed by his last minute cancellation.
He did it last at Lokin when Talbot broke his wrist.
As for Neil’s position on Rogan
( never watched him ,never will), Young has a deluded sense of self import ,Always been a fan .
However I do not look to him to conceive of elevated notions as his lyrics could be written by an astute 4 th grader ,and I personally prefer a more upbeat message .Hey ,Hey ,nor do I care about what happened to Johnny
Rotten.
I’d prefer to listen to Sugar mountain & not his preclusive diatribe .
This is a real question ,anybody listen to his Psychedelic Pill album,we occasionally do when the wind blows from
Colorado .
It’s worth the listen,I believe one song has 3- words and Neil hits the same note 128 times( at least it seems like it).
I’m not looking to Neil to solve problems ,he’s got more than I want.
@carey georgas
Censorship??
Go Truckers, is a slogan Neil might have supported years ago…
Go Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. Old people rock!!!
Absolutely Jorma, such a lovely guy, can’t be believe he is gone, so lucky that I was able to take his class at the ranch. Like you said, such a sweet sweet, gentle spirit. He taught us this funny one called Orangutang Rag and taught us a beautiful Destruction in this World – Way, way too soon – heavy heart – Jim
Go Bengals!!!!
1/30
Today is Marty Balin’s birthday.
Gone, never forgotten.
Happy Birthday Bro.
And, on another topic: Who Dey? m
Mensch: A person of integrity and honor, someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. This one word says it all, no further explanation is needed. It is interesting to note that the same word could be used to categorize many of the people that work, live and instruct at the Fur Peace Ranch. Jorma, this is one of those times when the saying “It Takes One to Know One”, works.
Thank you Jorma for sharing the news with us. Back in the 70’s Woody was teaching out of a guitar studio in Port Washington NY for a little while. I was lucky enough to grab a few lessons with him. I still remember walking in and him playing Make Believe Stunt for me on my guitar. The “lessons” I received from you back then were at the Palladium, Commack Arena, South Hampton College etc etc
My condolences to Woody’s family…he was a great guitar player.
Jorma, we have known each other for thirty four years and I have never responded to a post on this site. Although the specifics are hazy, I have a beautiful memory of the weekend Woody Mann was there for a Guitar Summit. “Yippe! Guitar Music” said Pat Donahue as he took the stage after yourself, Woody, (specifics?). That is the side, by the time the open mic started Sunday everyone was guitar saturated. Amen.
Well after the open mic Woody came up to me and told me he liked my playing. Only FPR can give you that kind of love Brother. I hate to see another beautiful musical voice silenced right now. Blessings to all the ranchers and the beat goes on. J
@Tom NY
Amen.
Don’t worry about Woody, he’s fine.
@Greg martelli
and God bless the soul of Woody Mann and all who are struggling.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the host of this website.
After being an observer and occasional participant ,this guy (Jorma), has indulged and allowed us to have a very open forum ,that provides every reasonable soul an opportunity to express their opinions ,sentiments and occasional strident postures on every subject from the Big Bang to ether world consciousness.
Music is what brings us all here .
I’m sure the weather in South eastern Ohio is similar to Central Kantuck(Kanfuk).
I’m smoking salmon ( purchased )& Canada goose ( harvested ) , today.
Let’s keep on keepin on ( sounds like a Steve Stills song)
Enjoy and batten down the hatches
I’ve only seen over what seems to be an eon ,a few excluded from this fanfare .
If you’re a legitimate a hole ,good riddance.
Otherwise this is a fun read.
Thanks Cap for the platform
Like a few people I contacted upon hearing of his passing, we all had the same intention of seeing Woody again. About a week ago, for no particular reason, I was thinking of Woody and went through my phone contacts to see if I still had his number. Sure enough I did, and I made a mental note that I would contact him at some point just to catch up. Both Valerie and Woody were so fortunate to have found each other. I know I will keep his spirit alive and just displayed a photo of him in my living room. Condolences to all who hold him dear to their heart.
Prayer is the key to Heaven, faith unlocks the door.
I have studied near death experiences and actual death experiences for 40 years. Brother Woody, when he passes, will be met with great comfort, and love. Even before he slips on thru to the other side, angels and maybe other predeceased past ancestors and saints will help him, maybe even the Rev…. That is one reason why it is good to pray for those who are dying. Our prayers may actually assist in bringing even additional aid.
One go to line I use soon before someone passes is, Jesus is waiting for you. Another is, I am right behind you.
It is also good to pray for the dead. Nothing impure enters paradise, so, though forgiven, we still need some clean up time, thus, it’s good to pray for the dead.
In the first Book, the Old Testament, in the Second Book of Maccabees you can read some intel for yourself.
,
2 Maccabees 12:39-45
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
39 And the day following Judas came with his company, to take away the bodies of them that were slain, and to bury them with their kinsmen, in the sepulchres of their fathers.
40 And they found under the coats of the slain some of the donaries of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbiddeth to the Jews: so that all plainly saw, that for this cause they were slain.
41 Then they all blessed the just judgment of the Lord, who had discovered the things that were hidden.
42 And so betaking themselves to prayers, they besought him, that the sin which had been committed might be forgotten. But the most valiant Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves from sin, forasmuch as they saw before their eyes what had happened, because of the sins of those that were slain.
43 And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection,
44 (For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead,)
45 And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them.
PS You won’t find Maccabees in certain Bible translations… I believe it was Luther who took those 2 books and at least 3 others out….One of them was the Book of Wisdom. I don’t think that was too wise.
God bless you Brother Woody. Thanks for the licks. You seem like a guy that worked out a lot of your stuff down here before you go… Good for you man.
Go meet your people and may you be embraced by God. Pray for us.
Such sad news. I used to work with his brother in the NY film biz building TV and movie sets. Have not seen him since he moved out west. Will have to wait for the time difference and give him a call..
Sorry to hear of this news. I was blessed to be able to see Woody at FPR a few years back. Hurl’s meditation was spot on.
Never was there a kinder, or softer, or deeper, or humbler, or more generous of heart, or tenderer, or more soulful and spiritual, or sincerer, or more emotionally intelligent, or a more purposeful person than Woody Mann. Woody, I remember the first time I met you, when you played in Centerport as part of the Huntington Folk Music Festival. I was giddy with delight, and you indulged me, even though you were quite busy! Luckily, our paths crossed many times more, including at FPR on the Road in San Diego. The world ain’t gonna be the same without you. “God Works in Mysterioys Ways”…. by Woody Mann. 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶💔 an absolute “must listen to” on this very sad day!
Hey Jorma,
Sad news!! A true loss of a gifted and talented musician!! Take care!! Be well!!
Jim Tulgan
I’m saddened by this news. A tremendous artist.
May he rest in peace 🙏
Condolences, Jorma, condolences.